Serenje parents urged to register their children

—-The National Registration Office in Serenje is concerned with failure by parents and guardians in the district to register the births of their children with the office.

District Registrar, Nelson Kalumba, said birth registration in Serenje is poor despite his office having done a lot of awareness.

Mr Kalumba, who revealed that only about 38 per cent of births are registered each year in the district, said birth registration is important as it helps government in planning for public infrastructure like hospitals and schools.

“When a child is not registered, it means that the child is not known by government and they are not catered for when planning for schools, hospitals and other public services,” Mr Kalumba enlightened.

He said children whose births are not registered with his office are denied a birth certificate which is a child’s birth right.

Mr Kalumba said a birth certificate which is issued to every child whose birth is registered is an important document which can help the bearer to access rights like the acquisition of a passport and National Registration Card (NRC), enrolment in to college or university, and during the acquisition of travelling documents.

The District Registrar, who observed that there is no reason for anyone to fail to register the births of children under their care as the exercise is compulsory and free of charge, has, however, appealed to parents and guardians to go to his office and register their children.